Access right management system, access right management method, and access right management program

ABSTRACT

An authentication includes a unit that issues right transfer information that is to be transmitted to a service providing device and a token that corresponds to the right transfer information and is to be transmitted to a service proxy access device on a basis of information about a user to whom a right is transferred and a condition under which the right is transferred, a unit that provides the token to the service proxy access device, and a unit that receives from the service providing device the token transferred from the service proxy access device and transmits to the service providing device the right transfer information that corresponds to the token and is kept by the authentication device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/735,120, filed on Jun. 17, 2010, which is anInternational Patent Application No. PCT/JP2008/073644, filed on Aug.17, 2009, which is based on the Japanese Patent Application No.2007-335988, filed on Dec. 27, 2007, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an access right management system, anaccess right management method and an access right management programthat allow the transfer of rights between users to be managed centrally.

BACKGROUND ART

As a technique of coordinating information about users betweenbusinesses over networks, there is standard technical specification SAML(Security Assertion Markup Language) standardized by OASIS, astandard-setting organization. FIG. 22 is a configuration diagramillustrating one example of a certificate generation and distributionsystem that uses SAML as disclosed in NPL 1.

In the certificate generation and distribution system illustrated inFIG. 22, an identity provider (represented by IdP, hereinafter) 100, aservice provider (represented by SP, hereinafter) 101 and a user agent(which is software on a user's terminal device) 102 are connectedtogether through a network. The following describes a procedure ofgenerating and distributing a certificate by means of the SAML artifactprofile as an exemplary operation of the certificate generation anddistribution system having the above configuration. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 22, suppose that IdP100 and SP101 retain userinformation 103 and 104, respectively, in storage devices as informationabout a user who uses the user agent 102.

In the certificate generation and distribution system illustrated inFIG. 22, the user accesses SP101 through the user agent 102 to use aservice whose use is restricted by SP101 (Step (1) in FIG. 22). SP101transmits a certificate request message to IdP100 to acquire acertificate of the user (Step (2-a) in FIG. 22); the user agent 102redirects the certificate request message from SP101 to IdP100 (Step(2-b) in FIG. 22). IdP100 uses the user information 103 to produce acertificate (assertion) written in XML (Extensible Markup Language)(Step (3) in FIG. 22). Moreover, IdP100 produces an artifact that servesas a ticket corresponding to the assertion and transmits the artifactback to the user agent 102 (Step (4-a) in FIG. 22). The user agent 102redirects the artifact to SP101 (Step (4-b) in FIG. 22).

SP101 transmits the received artifact to IdP100 and requests thecorresponding assertion (Step (5) in FIG. 22). IdP100 confirms theartifact received from SP101 and returns the corresponding assertion toSP101 (Step (6) in FIG. 22). SP101 checks the validity of the assertionreceived from IdP100, examines a security policy of SP101, and makes adetermination as to whether to allow the request from the user foraccessing the service. When it is determined that the request isallowed, the service starts to be provided to the user agent 102 (Step(7) in FIG. 22).

As described above, IdP100 generates the certificate concerning the userand distributes the certificate to SP101. It is possible to recordinformation about the user who accesses SP101 in the certificatedistributed by IdP100. The information about the user may be useridentifier information, information about a service area of thecertificate (or about businesses who accept the certificate afterdistribution), classified information about the user, or other kinds ofinformation.

Disclosed in PTL 1 is an example of a system for managing the transferof access rights. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating anaccess management system that realizes the transfer of rights asdisclosed in PTL 1. What is described in the example illustrated in FIG.23 is a system that manages the transfer of rights between a member ofan organization A (110) and a member of an organization B (111). In agiven organization A, a resource 113 is controlled. In anotherorganization B, a resource 113 is controlled. In the organization B,there is a resource access person 115 who accesses the resource 113.

The following describes the operation of the access management systemillustrated in FIG. 23. First an administrator 112 of the organization Atransmits credit information to an administrator 114 of the organizationB (Step (1) in FIG. 23). What are described in the credit informationare conditions (or conditions for the transfer of rights) under which,instead of the administrator of the organization A, the resource accessperson 115 of the organization B accesses the resource. The followingdescription is based on the assumption that the resource access person115 satisfies the conditions for accessing the resource. Then, theadministrator 114 of the organization B issues credit information to theresource access 115 of the organization B on behalf of the administrator112 of the organization A (Step (2) in FIG. 23). The credit informationissued by the administrator 114 of the organization B includes thecredit information issued by the administrator 112 of the organizationA. The resource access person 115 of the organization B then transmits,along with the credit information issued by the administrator 114 of theorganization B, an access request message to the resource 113 of theorganization A (Step (3) in FIG. 23). The resource 113 of theorganization A makes a determination as to whether to allow access onthe basis of the credit information transmitted from the resource accessperson 115 of the organization B and transmits some information to theresource access person 115 of the organization B.

As described above, the administrator 112 of the organization Atransmits the information for proxy access to the organization B, acounterpart to which the access right is transferred. Therefore, thetransfer of the access right is realized.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

{PTL 1} JP-A-2006-254464

{NPL 1} OASIS, “Assertions and Protocol for the OASIS Security AssertionMarkup Language (SAML)V2.0,” [online], Mar. 15, 2005, (searched on Nov.26, 2007), Internet, <URL:http://docs.oasis-open.org/security/sam1/v2.0/sam1-core-2.0-os.pdf>

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, there are the following problems with the techniques disclosedin the above PTL 1 and NPL 1.

The first problem is that, with the techniques disclosed in the abovePTL 1 and NPL 1, the probability is high that information may leak whena user (user 1) uses an access right transferred from another user (user2) to make a service provider (SP1) act as a proxy in accessing anotherservice provider (SP2). The reason is that all the user information andaccess rights that the service provider has need to be exchanged betweenthe provider (SP1) that acts as a proxy in accessing the provider (SP2)and the service provider (SP2) that is to be accessed.

That is, according to the techniques disclosed in PTL 1 and NPL 1, SP1and SP2 exchange with each other the certificate in which the accessright information of both users 1 and 2 is recorded. Therefore, there isa high possibility that information may leak. According to the techniquedisclosed in PTL 1, the credit information in which all the access rightinformation is recorded is exchanged between the service providers. Thatis, the two service providers exchange with each other all informationabout the user including access rights and settings of right transfer.Even with the technique disclosed in NPL 1, the providers exchange witheach other the certificate in which information about the user isrecorded. As a result, all information about the user is disclosed tothe other providers.

When a user (user 1) uses an access right transferred from another user(user 2) to make a service provider (SP1) act as a proxy in accessinganother service provider (SP2), SP1 has accepted access from the user 1.Therefore, information about the user 2 is unnecessary. Moreover, sinceSP2 has accepted proxy access with the user 2's right, only the rightinformation of the user 2 is necessary and information about the user 1is unnecessary. Thus, it is not necessary for SP1 and SP2 to acquireuser information of both users. That is, it is desirable for eachservice provider to use only essential user information.

The second problem is that when a user (user 1) uses an access righttransferred from another user (user 2) to make a service provider (SP1)act as a proxy in accessing another service provider (SP2), the user 2needs to specify, as a policy, the settings of access right and righttransfer for all providers. Therefore, the procedure is not efficient.

The reason is that the providers each separately manage information thatis used to determine whether to allow access. The service providers eachmanage the user's access acceptance/rejection information. Accordingly,when a user transfers the right to another user, it is necessary to settransfer conditions for all the providers involved. According to thetechnique disclosed in NPL 1, the service provider controls access afterreceiving and examining the certificate. Therefore, when the user setsup the right transfer, the user needs to set up the right transfer forall SPs. Even with the technique disclosed in PTL 1, the administratorof the organization A who controls access issues the credit informationas access control information. That is, for each of the resources orservice providers to be accessed, the settings of right transfer of theuser need to be kept. The above methods are inefficient because thenumber of times the access right and the right transfer are setincreases as the number of resources and the number of service providersworking closely with each other increase.

The object of the present invention is to provide an access rightmanagement system, an access right management method and an access rightmanagement program that can reduce the amount of information exchangedbetween devices when a device uses a right transferred from a user toact as a proxy in accessing another device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an access rightmanagement system, an access right management method and an access rightmanagement program that allow the settings of access control and righttransfer to be managed centrally at one site.

Solution to Problem

According to the present invention, an access right management system ischaracterized by including an authentication device that manages acondition under which a right is transferred, a service providing devicethat provides a service in response to a service request, and a serviceproxy access device that acts as a proxy in accessing the serviceproviding device, wherein: the authentication device includes a userauthentication certificate generation unit that issues to another deviceuser authentication information on which information about a user isrecorded and a right transfer certificate/token generation unit thatissues to another device right transfer information and a tokencorresponding to the right transfer information on the basis ofinformation about a user to whom the right is transferred and thecondition under which the right is transferred; the service proxy accessdevice includes a token request unit that requests the issuing of theright transfer information and the token in order to access anotherdevice and a user proxy access unit that accesses another service usingthe token; and the service providing device includes a userauthentication certificate request unit that uses the token to acquirethe user authentication information from the authentication device.

According to the present invention, an authentication device that issuesuser authentication information in an access right management systemmanaging the transfer of a right is characterized by including: a userauthentication certificate generation unit that generates, for anotherdevice, user authentication information on which information about auser is recorded; a right transfer setting information acceptance unitthat sets a condition under which an access right is transferred toanother user; a right transfer condition storage unit that stores thecondition under which the access right is transferred that is set by auser; a right transfer certificate/token generation unit that issues toanother device right transfer information and a token corresponding tothe right transfer information on the basis of information about a userto whom the right is transferred and the condition under which the rightis transferred; a certificate storage unit that keeps the right transferinformation and token issued by the right transfer certificate/tokengeneration unit; and a certificate request acceptance unit that receivesthe token and acquires from the certificate storage unit the righttransfer information corresponding to the token received.

According to the present invention, a service proxy access device thatacts as a proxy in accessing a service providing device in an accessright management system managing the transfer of a right ischaracterized by including: a user authentication certificate managementunit that acquires user authentication information of a user who isaccessing; a user authentication certificate storage unit that keeps theuser authentication information acquired; a token request unit thatrequests the issuing of right transfer information and a token in orderto access another device; and a user proxy access unit that accessesanother service using the token.

According to the present invention, a service providing device thatprovides a service in response to a service request in an access rightmanagement system managing the transfer of a right is characterized byincluding: a token acceptance unit that receives from another device atoken that is used to acquire information about a user; a userauthentication certificate request unit that acquires userauthentication information using the token received; a service accessacceptance unit that makes a determination as to whether to allow accessto service information by examining the information about the user; anda service information storage unit that keeps a service to be providedto another device.

According to the present invention, an access right management method,which is for enabling an authentication device that manages a righttransfer condition and issues user authentication information togenerate and distribute information about the transfer of a right and atoken to a service providing device that provides a service in responseto a service request and a service proxy access device that acts as aproxy in accessing the service providing device, is characterized inthat: the authentication device performs a user authenticationcertificate generation step of generating, for another device, userauthentication information on which information about a user is recordedand a right transfer certificate/token generation step of issuing toanother device right transfer information and a token corresponding tothe right transfer information on the basis of information about a userto whom the right is transferred and a condition under which the rightis transferred; the service proxy access device performs a token requeststep of requesting the issuing of the right transfer information and thetoken in order to access another device and a user proxy access step ofaccessing another service using the token; and the service providingdevice performs a user authentication certificate request step of usingthe token to acquire the user authentication information from theauthentication device.

According to the present invention, an authentication program, which isin an authentication device issuing user authentication information inan access right management system managing the transfer of a right, ischaracterized by causing a computer to function as the authenticationdevice including: a user authentication certificate generation unit thatgenerates, for another device, user authentication information on whichinformation about a user is recorded; a right transfer settinginformation acceptance unit that sets a condition under which an accessright is transferred to another user; a right transfer condition storageunit that stores the condition under which the access right istransferred that is set by a user; a right transfer certificate/tokengeneration unit that issues to another device right transfer informationand a token corresponding to the right transfer information on the basisof information about a user to whom the right is transferred and thecondition under which the right is transferred; a certificate storageunit that keeps the right transfer information and token issued by theright transfer certificate/token generation unit; and a certificaterequest acceptance unit that receives the token and acquires from thecertificate storage unit the right transfer information corresponding tothe token received.

According to the present invention, a service proxy access program,which is in a service proxy access device acting as a proxy in accessinga service providing device in an access right management system managingthe transfer of a right, is characterized by causing a computer tofunction as the service proxy access device including: a userauthentication certificate management unit that acquires userauthentication information of a user who is accessing; a userauthentication certificate storage unit that keeps the userauthentication information acquired; a token request unit that requeststhe issuing of right transfer information and a token in order to accessanother device; and a user proxy access unit that accesses anotherservice using the token.

According to the present invention, a service providing program, whichis in a service providing device providing a service in response to aservice request in an access right management system managing thetransfer of a right, is characterized by causing a computer to functionas the service providing device including: a token acceptance unit thatreceives from another device a token that is used to acquire informationabout a user; a user authentication certificate request unit thatacquires user authentication info nation using the token received; aservice access acceptance unit that makes a determination as to whetherto allow access to service information by examining the informationabout the user; and a service information storage unit that keeps aservice to be provided to another device.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to control access andto transfer rights while protecting security and privacy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

{FIG. 1} A block diagram illustrating the basic configuration of anaccess right management system as a whole according to the presentinvention.

{FIG. 2} A block diagram illustrating the configuration of the accessright management system according to the present invention.

{FIG. 3} A block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration ofan authentication device according to a first exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

{FIG. 4} A diagram illustrating an example of a user authenticationcertificate issued by the authentication device according to the firstexemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 5} An explanatory diagram illustrating a correlation between righttransfer conditions, which are a given person who sets the transfer of aright, a user to whom the right is transferred, and the ID of a serviceto be accessed, according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 6} An explanatory diagram illustrating a correlation between tokenand certificate according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 7} A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a serviceproxy access device according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 8} A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a serviceproviding device according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 9} A flowchart outlining a process of the first exemplaryembodiment.

{FIG. 10} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device when a user sets the transfer of a right toanother user, according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 11} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning the serviceproxy access device when a user authentication certificate is requestedand acquired, according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 12} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device when a user authentication certificate isgenerated, according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 13} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning the serviceproxy access device when the service proxy access device acts as a proxyin accessing another service, according to the first exemplaryembodiment.

{FIG. 14} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device when a right transfer certificate is issued andwhen a token pertaining to the certificate is issued, according to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 15} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning the serviceproviding device that accepts proxy access, according to the firstexemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 16} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device when a certificate is acquired based on a token,according to the first exemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 17} A block diagram illustrating the configuration of a serviceproviding device, according to a second exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

{FIG. 18} A flowchart illustrating a process concerning the serviceproviding device that accepts proxy access, according to the secondexemplary embodiment.

{FIG. 19} A block diagram outlining a third exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

{FIG. 20} A configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of anaccess management system in Example 1 of the present invention.

{FIG. 21} A configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of anaccess management system in Example 2 of the present invention.

{FIG. 22} A configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of asystem that realizes distribution of certificates as disclosed in NPL 1.

{FIG. 23} An explanatory diagram illustrating an access managementsystem that realizes a transfer of rights as disclosed in PTL 1.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1: Authentication device

2: Service proxy access device

3: Service providing device

4: Service access user terminal device

5: Right setting user terminal device

6: Network

7: Service providing device

10: User authentication certificate request acceptance unit

11: User information management unit

12: User authentication certificate generation unit

13: Right transfer setting information acceptance unit

14: Right transfer certificate/token generation unit

15: Right user conversion unit

16: Right transfer certificate/token management unit

17: Right transfer certificate request acceptance unit

18: Certificate request acceptance unit

20: User information storage unit

21: Right transfer condition storage unit

22: Service providing information storage unit

23: Certificate storage unit

31: User authentication certificate request unit

32: User proxy access unit

33: Access right token request unit

34: User certificate management unit

35: User certificate examination unit

36: Access right token management unit

41: User authentication certificate storage unit

42: Proxy access information storage unit

43: Access right token storage unit

50: Service access acceptance unit

51: Service information management unit

52: Access right token acceptance unit

53: User authentication certificate request unit

54: Certificate examination unit

60: Service information storage unit

61: Access right condition storage unit

62: Certificate information storage unit

71: Service proxy access unit

100: Identity provider (IdP)

101: Service provider (SP)

102: User agent

103: User information

104: User information

110: Organization A

111: Organization B

112: Administrator of organization A

113: Resource

114: Administrator of organization B

115: Resource access person of organization B

200: Authentication device

201: Shopping site

202: Shipping company

203: Product purchaser

204: Product delivery user

205: Authentication device

206: User terminal device

207: Service provider

208: Charging service

209: Company's expense bearing department

A: Authentication device

B: Service proxy access device

C: Service providing device

D: Authentication program

E: Service proxy access program

F: Service providing program

G: Network

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes in detail exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of anaccess right management system according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. According to a first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the access right management system includes anauthentication device 1, a service proxy access device 2, a serviceproviding device 3, a service access user terminal device 4, and a rightsetting user terminal device 5. The above devices are each connected toa network 6. What are shown in FIG. 1 are one authentication device 1,one service proxy access device 2, one service providing device 3, oneservice access user terminal device 4, and one right setting userterminal device 5. However, what are shown in FIG. 1 are one example;there may be one or more authentication devices 1, one or more serviceproxy access devices 2, one or more service providing devices 3, one ormore service access user terminal devices 4, and one or more rightsetting user terminal devices 5.

A user who transfers a right to another user accesses the authenticationdevice 1 through the right setting user terminal device 5. A user towhom the right is transferred from another user accesses the serviceproxy access device 2 through the service access user terminal device 4.Incidentally, the user means an individual or an organization made up ofa plurality of individuals.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the major components of theaccess right management system according to the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 2, the access right management system includes theauthentication device 1 that manages conditions under which the right istransferred; the service providing device 3 that provides a service inresponse to a service request; and the service proxy access device 2that acts as a proxy in accessing the service providing device. Theauthentication device 1 includes a user authentication certificategeneration unit 12 and a right transfer certificate/token generationunit 14. The user authentication certificate generation unit 12 issues,to another device, user authentication information in which informationabout the user is recorded. The right transfer certificate/tokengeneration unit 14 issues, to another device, right transfer informationand a token corresponding to the right transfer information on the basisof the information about the user to whom the right is transferred andof the right transfer conditions. The service proxy access device 2includes a token request unit 33 and a user proxy access unit 32. Thetoken request unit 33 requests the right transfer information and thetoken to be issued in order to access another device. The user proxyaccess unit 32 uses the token to access another service. The serviceproviding device 3 includes a user authentication certificate requestunit 53 that uses the token to acquire the user authenticationinformation from the authentication device.

The service providing device 3 also includes a service informationstorage unit 60 in which a service that is to be provided to anotherdevice is kept; and a token acceptance unit 52 that receives the tokenwhich is used to acquire information about the user from another device.

Incidentally, the user authentication information (which is, forexample, a user authentication certificate) that the user authenticationcertificate request unit 53 acquires is called the right transferinformation (which is, for example, a right transfer certificate) in theauthentication device 1. Since there is right transfer settinginformation in the authentication device 1, the user authenticationinformation is judged to be the right transfer information. However, inthe service providing device 3, the user authentication information isinformation about the user and there is no information about thetransfer of the right. Since the service providing device 3 cannotdetermine whether the user authentication information is the righttransfer information, the user authentication information is regarded asthe user authentication information. Both indicate the same information.However, since each device has a different kind of information as apremise, the information is called differently.

The configuration of each device of the present exemplary embodiment maychange as described below. Incidentally, the present invention is notlimited to the exemplary embodiments and examples disclosed herein. Itis clear that various modifications apparent to those skilled in the artcan be made in the configuration and details of the present inventionwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

The authentication device 1 may include a right transfer conditionstorage unit 21 that stores a condition under which an access right istransferred, with the condition set up by a user who transfers theright; the right transfer certificate/token generation unit 14 may issuethe right transfer information and the token corresponding to the righttransfer information on the basis of the right transfer condition storedin the right transfer condition storage unit 21. The authenticationdevice 1 may include a certificate storage unit 23 in which the righttransfer information issued by the right transfer certificate/tokengeneration unit 14 and the token corresponding to the right transferinformation are kept; and a certificate request acceptance unit 18 thatreceives a token and then acquires from the certificate storage unit theright transfer information corresponding to the received token. Theauthentication device 1 may include a right user conversion unit 15 thatmakes a determination as to whether to allow the transfer of the accessright to another user; the right transfer certificate/token generationunit 14 may issue the right transfer information and the tokencorresponding to the right transfer information when the right userconversion unit 15 determines to allow the transfer of the right.

The service proxy access device 2 may include a user authenticationcertificate management unit 35 that acquires the user authenticationinformation of the user who is accessing; and a user authenticationcertificate storage unit 41 in which the acquired user authenticationinformation is kept.

The service providing device 3 may further include a token request unit33A that requests the right transfer information and the token to beissued in order to act as a proxy for the user recorded in the userauthentication information in accessing another device; and a user proxyaccess unit 32A that uses the token for another device to access anotherservice.

FIRST EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

The following describes the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The overall configuration of an access right managementsystem is shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof an authentication device 1. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, theauthentication device 1 includes a user authentication certificaterequest acceptance unit 10, a user information management unit 11, auser authentication certificate generation unit 12, a right transfersetting information acceptance unit 13, a right transfercertificate/token generation unit 14, a right user conversion unit 15, aright transfer certificate/token management unit 16, a right transfercertificate request acceptance unit 17, a certificate request acceptanceunit 18, a user information storage unit 20, a right transfer conditionstorage unit 21, a service providing information storage unit 22, and acertificate storage unit 23.

The user authentication certificate request acceptance unit 10 accepts arequest from another device for a user authentication certificate andreturns the user authentication certificate issued by the userauthentication certificate generation unit 12 to the device that hasmade the request for the user authentication certificate. The userauthentication certificate is a document on which the information aboutthe user stored (kept) in the user information storage unit 20 isrecorded. The user authentication certificate includes user identifierinformation, certificate issuer information and the like. An example ofthe user authentication certificate is shown in FIG. 4. For example, theuser authentication certificate is in the format of SAML, which isdisclosed in NPL 1, or X.509. However, the user authenticationcertificate is not limited to such a format. According to the presentinvention, the user authentication certificate can be in any format aslong as the user authentication certificate includes information aboutthe user.

The user information management unit 11 acquires from the userinformation storage unit 20 user information which is a source of thecertificate when the user authentication certificate request acceptanceunit 10 receives a request for generating the user authenticationcertificate; and transmits the user information to the userauthentication certificate generation unit 12. The user authenticationcertificate generation unit 12 issues the user authenticationcertificate on the basis of the information of the user informationstorage unit 20.

The right transfer setting information acceptance unit 13 accepts righttransfer setting information from the right setting user terminal device5 illustrated in FIG. 1. The right transfer setting informationacceptance unit 13 then stores the right transfer setting information inthe right transfer condition storage unit 21 along with the informationstored in the user information storage unit 20. The right transfersetting information is information including an identifier of the userwho transfers the right, an identifier of the user to whom the right istransferred, the ID of an provider that is to be accessed with thetransferred right, URLs, resources and the like. Incidentally, FIG. 5shows an example of information stored in the transfer condition storageunit 21.

The right transfer certificate/token generation unit 14 acquires fromthe right transfer certificate request acceptance unit 17 a request forissuing the right transfer certificate that is used for proxy access aswell as acquires from the right user conversion unit 15 informationabout the user to whom the right is transferred; and issues the righttransfer certificate. The right transfer certificate is in the sameformat as the user authentication certificate's. When seen from theauthentication device 1 that issues the right transfer certificate, thecertificate is a certificate issued based on the right transfer settinginformation; the certificate is therefore a right transfer certificate.However, there is no right transfer setting information in the serviceproviding device 3 that receives the right transfer certificate; whenseen from the service providing device 3, the certificate is a mere userauthentication certificate since the information about the user isrecorded therein.

Furthermore, the right transfer certificate/token generation unit 14issues a token that is used to uniquely identify a certificate. Thetoken has an identifier recorded thereon to indentify the certificate.The token that is used to uniquely identify the certificate can berealized by using the artifact defined in SAML as disclosed in NPL 1.However, the token may be in any form other than the artifact as long asthe token is a string of characters uniquely linked to the certificate.

The right user conversion unit 15 acquires the user authenticationcertificate from the right transfer certificate request acceptance unit17; and makes a determination as to whether to allow the transfer of theright on the basis of the conditions recorded in the right transfercondition storage unit 21. When the right user conversion unit 15determines to allow the transfer of the right, the right user conversionunit 15 acquires from the user information storage unit 20 the userinformation of the user to whom the right is transferred. For example,when the identifier of the user recorded on the user authenticationcertificate is recorded as the identifier of a user to whom the right istransferred that is stored in the right transfer condition storage unit21, the right user conversion unit 15 determines to allow the transferof the right. The right user conversion unit 15 also allows the issuingof the user authentication certificate (right transfer certificate) as auser who transfers the right.

The right transfer certificate/token management unit 16 registers thecertificate and token generated by the right transfer certificate/tokengeneration unit 14 in the certificate storage unit 23 in such a way thatthe certificate and the token are associated with one another. The righttransfer certificate/token management unit 16 also acquires thecertificate from the certificate storage unit 23 by using the token. Theright transfer certificate request acceptance unit 17 acquires fromanother device a request for issuing the right certificate that is usedfor proxy access and the user authentication certificate. The righttransfer certificate request acceptance unit 17 then returns the tokenpertaining to the access right produced by the authentication device 1to the device that has acquired the request for issuing the rightcertificate.

The certificate request acceptance unit 18 acquires the token fromanother device and returns the certificate stored in the certificatestorage unit 23.

The user information storage unit 20 stores the user information. Theuser information includes the user identifier, information about theaccess right of the user (Read, Write, right of execution and the like),information about whether to issue the certificate to another device,and the like. Incidentally, the information concerning the user is notlimited to the kinds of information described above. In addition to orinstead of the kinds of information described above, other informationmay be added.

The right transfer condition storage unit 21 stores the user's righttransfer information including the identifier of the user who transfersthe right, the identifier of the user to whom the right is transferred,information about the device to be accessed, to-be-accessed information,and the like. The service providing information storage unit 22 storesinformation such as a to-be-accessed URL of the service providing device3 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The certificate storage unit 23 stores the certificate and the token insuch a way that the certificate and the token are associated with oneanother. FIG. 6 shows an example of information stored in thecertificate storage unit 23. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, thecertificate is stored with the token serving as a key.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof the service proxy access device 2. As shown in FIG. 7, the serviceproxy access device 2 includes a user authentication certificate requestunit 31, a user proxy access unit 32, a token request unit 33, a userauthentication certificate examination unit 34, a user authenticationcertificate management unit 35, a token management unit 36, a userauthentication certificate storage unit 41, a proxy access informationstorage unit 42, and a token storage unit 43.

The user authentication certificate request unit 31 requests the userauthentication certificate from the authentication device 1 to acquirethe user authentication certificate.

The user proxy access unit 32 checks the access right stored in theproxy access information storage unit 42. When proxy access is possible,the user proxy access unit 32 acts as a proxy for the user and accessesanother device by using the token pertaining to the access rightacquired from the authentication device 1.

The token request unit 33 uses the user authentication certificate torequest the authentication device 1 to issue the right transfercertificate and acquires the token.

The user authentication certificate examination unit 34 examines whetherthe user authentication certificate acquired from the authenticationdevice 1 is correct. Examining whether the user authenticationcertificate is correct means confirming whether there is any violationin the certificate by checking the period of validity of thecertificate, the format of the certificate, the issuer of thecertificate and the like.

The user authentication certificate management unit 35 registers theuser authentication certificate in the user authentication certificatestorage unit 41. The user authentication certificate management unit 35also acquires the authentication certificate of the user who isaccessing. The token management unit 36 stores in the token storage unit43 the token acquired from the authentication device 1. The userauthentication certificate storage unit 41 stores the userauthentication certificate. The proxy access information storage unit 42stores the access right information indicating whether the device isable to act as a proxy for the user in accessing another device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof the service providing device 3. As shown in FIG. 8, the serviceproviding device 3 includes a service access acceptance unit 50, aservice information management unit 51, a token acceptance unit 52, auser authentication certificate request unit 53, a certificateexamination unit 54, a service information storage unit 60, an accessright condition storage unit 61, and a certificate information storageunit 62.

The service access acceptance unit 50 acquires a request for a servicefrom anther device. When the service request satisfies the accessconditions stored in the access right condition storage unit 61, theservice access acceptance unit 50 transmits information about theservice.

The service information management unit 51 acquires the informationabout the service from the service information storage unit 60. Thetoken acceptance unit 52 acquires the token from a service requestmessage when the service request is acquired during proxy access. Theuser authentication certificate request unit 53 transmits to theauthentication device 1 the token acquired from the token acceptanceunit 52; and acquires the user authentication certificate.

The certificate examination unit 54 analyzes the token acquired by theuser authentication certificate request unit 53 to confirm whether thecertificate is correct. The service information storage unit 60 storesinformation about the service that the service providing device 3provides to another device. The access right condition storage unit 61stores conditions under which the service is provided. The certificateinformation storage unit 62 stores the authentication certificatepertaining to the user.

The following describes the operation of the first exemplary embodimentwith reference to FIGS. 9 to 16.

With reference to FIG. 9, the operation of the system as a whole will bedescribed. The right setting user terminal device 5 accesses theauthentication device 1 and sets the right transfer conditions (StepI1). At this time, if the right transfer conditions have been alreadyset in the authentication device 1, the process of step I1 can beomitted. The process of step I1 will be detailed later with reference toFIG. 10. Subsequently, the service access user terminal device 4accesses the service proxy access device 2. The service proxy accessdevice 2 acquires the user authentication certificate from theauthentication device 1 (Step 12). The process of step I2 will bedetailed later with reference to FIG. 11. The service proxy accessdevice 2 then uses the user's right to act as a proxy in accessing theservice providing device 3 (Step I3). The process of step I3 will bedetailed later with reference to FIG. 13.

The following describes a setting operation for enabling a user (user A)to transfer the access right to anther user (user B) with reference toFIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device 1 when a user sets the transfer of the right toanother user.

The user A accesses the right transfer setting information acceptanceunit 13 of the authentication device 1 through the right setting userterminal device 5 (Step A1). Then, the user A who transfers the rightinputs a condition under which the access right of the user A managed bythe user information storage unit 20 is transferred to another user(Step A2). The input right is then registered in the right transfercondition storage unit 21 (Step A3). The process described above sets upthe condition to realize the transfer of the right. The user A notifiesthe user B of information about the transfer of the right set by theuser A. The notification may take place through the network or offline

The following describes an operation of the service proxy access device2 acquiring the user authentication certificate from the authenticationdevice 1 when the service access user terminal device 4 accesses theservice proxy access device 2, with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is aflowchart illustrating a process concerning the service proxy accessdevice 2 when the user authentication certificate is requested andacquired.

First, the user B to whom the right is transferred accesses the userauthentication certificate request unit 31 of the service proxy accessdevice 2 through the service access user terminal device 4 (Step B1).The user authentication certificate request unit 31 generates a requestmessage to request the user authentication certificate and transmits therequest message to the authentication device 1 (Step B2). Theauthentication device 1 that has received the request message issues theuser authentication certificate and transmits the user authenticationcertificate to the service proxy access device 2 (Step B3). The processof step B3 will be detailed later with reference to FIG. 12. Afteracquiring the user authentication certificate from the authenticationdevice 1, the user authentication certificate examination unit 34examines whether the user authentication certificate is issued correctly(Step B4). When it is determined as a result of the examination processat step B4 that the certificate is not correct, the process ends. Whenit is determined as a result of the examination at step B4 that thecertificate is correct, the user authentication certificate managementunit 35 registers the certificate in the user authentication certificatestorage unit 41 and ends the process (Step B5).

The following describes an operation of a process (Step B3 in FIG. 11)of the authentication device 1 issuing the user authenticationcertificate, with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a flowchartillustrating a process concerning the authentication device when theuser authentication certificate is generated.

First the authentication device 1 receives a certificate request fromanother device through the user authentication certificate requestacceptance unit 10 (Step C1). Then, the user information management unit11 acquires from the user information storage unit 20 the userinformation that is to be recorded on the certificate (Step C2).Furthermore, the user authentication certificate generation unit 12issues the user authentication certificate on the basis of thecertificate request received from another device and the userinformation acquired from the user information storage unit 20 (StepC3). The user authentication certificate request acceptance unit 10 thentransmits the user authentication certificate to the device that hasrequested the user authentication certificate (Step C4).

The following describes an operation in which the service proxy accessdevice 2 accesses the service providing device 3 with the user As rightin response to a request from the user B to whom the right istransferred from the user A, with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is aflowchart illustrating a process concerning the service proxy accessdevice 2 when the service proxy access device 2 acts as a proxy inaccessing another service.

First the user B accesses the user proxy access unit 32 of the serviceproxy access device 2 and requests the service proxy access device 2 toact as a proxy in accessing (Step D1). The user proxy access unit 32checks the access right stored in the proxy access information storageunit 42 and makes a determination as to whether the user B is allowed toperform proxy access (whether the user B is allowed to use the serviceproxy access device 2) (Step D2). When the user B cannot perform, theprocess ends (Step D9). When the result of the determination at step D2shows that proxy access is possible, the token request unit 33 generatesa message to request the token for proxy access and transmits thegenerated message to the authentication device 1 along with the userauthentication certificate (of the user B) kept in the userauthentication certificate storage unit 41 (Step D3).

Then, the authentication device 1 generates the right transfercertificate and the token and transmits the token to the service proxyaccess device 2 (Step D4). The process of step D4 will be detailed laterwith reference to FIG. 14. After that, the token is registered in thetoken storage unit 43 through the token management unit 36. Then, theuser proxy access unit 32 generates an access request message for theservice providing device 3 (Step D5). Furthermore, the user proxy accessunit 32 transmits the access request message and the token generated bythe authentication device 1 to the service providing device 3 (Step D6).

The service providing device 3 transmits the service information to theservice proxy access device 2 on the basis of the access request message(Step D7). The process of step D7 will be detailed later with referenceto FIG. 15. Finally, the user proxy access unit 32 acquires informationabout the service and transmits the proxy access processing results tothe user B (Step D8).

The following describes an operation of the authentication device 1generating the right transfer certificate and the token with referenceto FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device when the right transfer certificate is issued andwhen the token pertaining to the certificate is issued.

First the right transfer certificate request acceptance unit 17 of theauthentication device 1 acquires an issuance request message requestingthe right transfer certificate to be issued and the user authenticationcertificate (of the user B) (Step E1). Then, the right user conversionunit 15 compares the information recorded in the issuance requestmessage and the information recorded in the user authenticationcertificate (of the user B) with the information (conditions) stored inthe right transfer condition storage unit 21 to make a determination asto whether it is possible to issue the right transfer certificate(concerning the user A) (Step E2). When the information recorded in theissuance request message or user authentication certificate does notmeet the conditions, the process ends (Step E8). When the result of thedetermination at step E2 shows that it is possible to issue thecertificate, the information about the user A who has transferred theright is acquired from the user information storage unit 20 on the basisof the information recorded in the issuance request message and theinformation managed by the right transfer condition storage unit 21(Step E3).

Subsequently, the right transfer certificate/token generation unit 14issues the right transfer certificate using the information about theuser A acquired from the user information storage unit 20 (Step E4). Theright transfer certificate/token generation unit 14 also issues thetoken corresponding to the right transfer certificate (Step E5). Afterthat, the right transfer certificate/token management unit 16 registersthe token and the right transfer certificate in the certificate storageunit 23 (Step E6). The right transfer certificate request acceptanceunit 17 then transmits the generated token to the device that hasrequested the right transfer certificate (Step E7). As described above,the right transfer certificate/token generation unit 14 generates theright transfer information (which is specifically the right transfercertificate) and the token corresponding to the right transferinformation on the basis of the right transfer conditions to issue toanother device through the right transfer certificate request acceptanceunit 17.

The following describes an operation of the service providing device 3accepting access from another device, with reference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15is a flowchart illustrating a process concerning the service providingdevice 3 that accepts proxy access.

The service access acceptance unit 50 of the service providing device 3accepts a message that requests access to a service; the tokenacceptance unit 52 accepts the token (Step F1). Subsequently, the userauthentication certificate request unit 53 uses the token accepted togenerate a message that requests the user authentication certificate andtransmits the message to the authentication device 1 (Step F2).

The authentication device 1 transmits the right transfer certificate tothe service providing device 3 as the user authentication certificate ofthe user A (Step F3). The process of step F3 will be detailed later withreference to FIG. 16. The certificate examination unit 54 then examinesthe user authentication certificate transmitted from the authenticationdevice 1 (Step F4). The steps taken for examination include:confirmation of the period of validity of the certificate, confirmationof the format of the certificate, confirmation of the issuer of thecertificate, and the like. When it is determined that the userauthentication certificate of the user A is not correct, the processends (Step F8). When the result of the examination at step F4 shows thatthe certificate is correct, the user authentication certificate of theuser A is registered in the certificate information storage unit 62(Step F5).

Subsequently, the service access acceptance unit 50 compares the contentrecorded in the acquired user authentication certificate of the user Awith the conditions managed by the access right condition storage unit61 to make a determination as to whether the user A is allowed to accessthe service providing device 3 (Step F6). When it is determined that theuser A is not allowed to access, the process ends (Step F8). When it isdetermined as a result of the process at step F6 that the user A isallowed to access, the service access acceptance unit 50 acquiresinformation about the service from the service information storage unit60 through the service information management unit 51 and transmits theacquired information to the device that is accessing (Step F7).

The following describes an operation in which the authentication device1 acquires the token and transmits the certificate with reference toFIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a process concerning theauthentication device when the certificate is acquired based on thetoken.

The certificate request acceptance unit 18 of the authentication device1 receives, instead of the right transfer certificate, a message thatrequests the user authentication certificate and the token (Step G1).The certificate request acceptance unit 18 uses the token received toacquire the certificate corresponding to the token from the certificatestorage unit 23 through the right transfer certificate/token managementunit 16 (Step G2). The certificate request acceptance unit 18subsequently transmits the certificate to the device that is accessing(Step G3).

As described above, in the access right management system of the presentinvention, the following devices are connected to each other through thenetwork 6 as shown in FIG. 1: the authentication device 1 that transfersthe right and issues the user certificate, the service proxy accessdevice 2 that uses the user's right to access another provider, theservice providing device 3 that confirms the user information afteraccepting access from another service and provides the service, theservice access user terminal device 4 that the user to whom the right istransferred from another device uses to access the service, and theright setting user terminal device 5 that is used by the user whoregisters settings for transferring the right to another user.

As shown in FIG. 3, the authentication device 1 includes the userauthentication certificate generation unit 12 that acquires, on thebasis of the certificate request accepted by the user authenticationcertificate request acceptance unit 10, the information stored in theuser information storage unit 20 through the user information managementunit 11 and generates the user authentication certificate; the righttransfer setting information acceptance unit 13 that accepts the righttransfer setting information from the user terminal device and registersthe right transfer setting information in the right transfer conditionstorage unit 21; the right transfer certificate/token generation unit 14that generates, on the basis of the certificate request accepted by theright transfer certificate request acceptance unit 17, the userauthentication certificate (referred to as a right transfercertificate), which is generated based on the right transfer settinginformation, and the token corresponding to the certificate by using theinformation acquired from the right user conversion unit 15 and theservice providing device information storage unit 22; the certificatestorage unit 23 that registers the token generated by the right transfercertificate/token generation unit 14 through the right transfercertificate/token management unit 16 in such a way that the token isassociated with the certificate; and the certificate request acceptanceunit 18 that searches for the certificate stored in the certificatestorage unit 23 using the accepted token and returns the certificate toa requester.

As shown in FIG. 7, the service proxy access device 2 includes the userauthentication certificate examination unit 34 that examines the userauthentication certificate after the user authentication certificaterequest unit 31 acquires the user authentication certificate from theauthentication device 1; the user authentication certificate managementunit 35 that stores the user authentication certificate in the userauthentication certificate storage unit 41; the token management unit 36that compares the certificate information stored in the userauthentication certificate storage unit 41 with the conditions for proxyaccess stored in the proxy access information storage unit 42 to make adetermination as to whether the certificate information meets theconditions, requests the token concerning the access right through thetoken request unit 33 when the certificate information meets theconditions, and registers the acquired token in the token storage unit43; and the user proxy access unit 32 that uses the token acquired bythe token request unit 33 to act as a proxy in accessing anotherprovider with the user's right.

As shown in FIG. 4, the service providing device 3 includes the serviceaccess acceptance unit 50 that acquires, when the conditions kept by theaccess right condition storage unit 61 are being satisfied, theinformation stored in the service information storage unit 60 throughthe service information management unit 51 and returns the informationto the device that is accessing; and the user authentication certificaterequest unit 53 that acquires the certificate on the basis of the tokenacquired by the token acceptance unit 52, examines the certificate usingthe certificate examination unit 54, and keeps the certificate in thecertificate information storage unit 62.

The certificate that the user authentication certificate request unit 53acquires is referred to as a right transfer certificate in theauthentication device 1. Since there is the right transfer settinginformation in the authentication device 1, it is determined that thecertificate is the one (right transfer certificate) used fortransferring the right. However, in the service providing device 3, thecertificate is the one on which user information is recorded, and thereis no information about the transfer of the right. Since the certificateis not judged to be a right transfer certificate in the serviceproviding device 3, the certificate is regarded as a user authenticationcertificate. Both represent the same thing. However, since theinformation retained as a premise is different, the certificate iscalled differently.

Such a configuration is adopted. The user who transfers the right toanother user sets the right conditions in the authentication device 1through the right setting user terminal device 6. After that, the userto whom the right is transferred accesses the service proxy accessdevice 2 through the service access user terminal device 5. The serviceproxy access device 2 requests the authentication device 1 to issue theright transfer certificate and the token. Furthermore, the service proxyaccess device 2 accesses the service providing device 3 to transmit thetoken. The service providing device 3 uses the token to acquire thecertificate of the user who transfers the right from the authenticationdevice 1 and controls access by using the certificate of the user whotransfers the right. Thus, the objective of the present invention isachieved.

The effects of the present exemplary embodiment will be described.According to the present exemplary embodiment, the authentication device1 is so configured as to selectively transmit an appropriate userauthentication certificate depending on what device is accessing.Therefore, it is not necessary to transmit unnecessary user information,thereby reducing the risk that the information will leak.

Moreover, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the user (userA) who transfers the right sets the right transfer conditions only inthe authentication device 1; the service providing device 3 is soconfigured as to determine whether to allow access for the user (user A)who transfers the right, not for the user (user B) to whom the right istransferred. Accordingly, what the user A who transfers the right doesis to set the right transfer conditions only in one spot. As a result,it is possible to save a lot of time and effort for the setting of theright.

Furthermore, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the user whotransfers the right inputs the right transfer conditions into theauthentication device 1. Accordingly, the setting of right transfer ispossible as the user desires by soliciting confirmation and agreementfrom the user.

SECOND EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

The following describes a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 17 is ablock diagram illustrating the configuration of a service providingdevice 7, which is a service providing device, according to the secondexemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17, thedifference between the service providing device 7 of the secondexemplary embodiment and the service providing device 3 of the firstexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 is that the service providingdevice 7 has, as well as the components of the service providing device3, a proxy access unit 71. The overall configuration is the same as theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 1, even though the service providingdevice 7 exists instead of or in addition to the service providingdevice 3.

The proxy access unit 71 includes a user proxy access unit 32, a tokenrequest unit 33, a proxy access information storage unit 42, and a tokenstorage unit 43. The units of the proxy access unit 71 operate in thesame way as the user proxy access unit 32, token request unit 33, proxyaccess information storage unit 42, and token storage unit 43 of theservice proxy access device 2 of the first exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 4.

The process in which the right setting user terminal device 5 sets thetransfer of the right in the authentication device 1 and the process inwhich the service proxy access device 2 acquires the user authenticationcertificate from the authentication device 1 are the same as theoperations of the first exemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 10,11 and 12. Moreover, the operation of the service proxy access device 2acquiring the token after requesting the authentication device 1 toissue the certificate concerning the right for proxy access andtransmitting the access request message to the service providing device7 is the same as the operation of the first exemplary embodiment (theprocesses of step D1 to D6 in FIG. 13). However, the operation of theservice providing device 7 receiving a proxy access request is differentfrom the operation of the first exemplary embodiment as illustrated inthe flowchart of FIG. 18.

The following describes the overall operation of the present exemplaryembodiment with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 18.

After acquiring an access request, the service providing device 7acquires the user authentication certificate from the authenticationdevice 1 and makes a determination as to whether to provide a service(Step F1 to F7). The processes of steps F1 to F7 are the same as theoperation of the service providing device 3 of the first exemplaryembodiment illustrated in FIG. 15.

According to the second exemplary embodiment, when the service providingdevice 7 transmits the service information, the service providing device7 acts as a proxy in accessing another service device. To allow proxyaccess, the token request unit 33 of the service providing device 7transmits to the authentication device 1 the user authenticationcertificate acquired by the process of step F3 and also transmits atoken issuance request message in order to make proxy access possible(Step H10). After receiving the token issuance request, theauthentication device 1 issues the certificate and the tokencorresponding to the certificate and transmits the certificate and thetoken to the service providing device 7 (Step H11). The process of stepH11 is the same as the process of the authentication device 1 of thefirst exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 14.

After the service providing device 7 acquires the token, the tokenmanagement unit 36 registers the token in the token storage unit 43.Moreover, the user proxy access unit 32 uses the information stored inthe proxy access information storage unit 42 to produce an accessrequest message for proxy access to another service providing device(step H12). The user proxy access unit 32 then transmits the accessrequest message to another service providing device (step H13).

After receiving the access request message, the service providing deviceperforms the same process as the process of the service providing device3 illustrated in FIG. 15 or a service request acceptance process whichis the same process as the process of the service providing device 7illustrated in FIG. 18 (Step H14). After that, the user proxy accessunit 32 transmits the results of proxy access to the device that isaccessing the service providing device 7 (Step H15).

The effects of the second exemplary embodiment will be described.According to the second exemplary embodiment, the information about theright transfer conditions kept in the authentication device 1 is reusedby the service access user terminal device 4; the service usage device 7to which the right is transferred is so configured as to re-transfer theright to another service usage device. Accordingly, the service proxyaccess device 2 is able to set the transfer of the right without takinginto account entrusting the right to another service usage device again.Therefore, the right transfer process of the service proxy access device2 becomes simple.

THIRD EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

The following describes a third exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 19 is ablock diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the thirdexemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, like the first and secondexemplary embodiments, the third exemplary embodiment is equipped withan authentication device A that can communicate through a network G, aservice proxy access device B, and a service providing device C.Incidentally, the authentication device A is equivalent to theauthentication device 1 of the first and second exemplary embodiments.The service proxy access device B is equivalent to the service proxyaccess device 2. The service providing device C is equivalent to theservice providing device 3 or service providing device 7 of the firstand second exemplary embodiments.

The authentication device A, the service proxy access device B and theservice providing device C each include a CPU. An authentication programD is a program to control the operation of the authentication device A,issue the certificate in response to a request from the service proxyaccess device B or service providing device C, and issue the token. Theauthentication device A carries out a control process in accordance withthe authentication program D, thereby performing the same processes asthe processes of the authentication device 1 of the first and secondexemplary embodiments.

A service proxy access program E is a program to control the operationof the service proxy access device B, acquire the certificate and thetoken from the authentication device A, and access the service providingdevice C. The service proxy access device B carries out a controlprocess in accordance with the service proxy access program E, therebyperforming the same processes as the processes of the service proxyaccess device 2 of the first and second exemplary embodiments.

A service providing program F is a program to control the operation ofthe service providing device C, acquire the certificate from theauthentication device A, and provide a service to the service proxyaccess device B. The service providing device C carries out a controlprocess in accordance with the service providing program F, therebyperforming the same processes as the processes of the service providingdevices 3 and 7 of the first and second exemplary embodiments.

EXAMPLES Example 1

The following describes Example 1 of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings. Example 1 is an examplecorresponding to the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of anaccess management system in Example 1. As shown in FIG. 20, the accessright management system includes an authentication device 200, ashopping site 201, and a shipping company 202 (which is, morespecifically, a server device or the like in the shipping company). Alsoillustrated in FIG. 20 are a product purchaser 203 and a user 204 towhom a product will be delivered.

The authentication device 200 is a device that manages user informationon the Internet and distributes the certificate. The shopping site 201is a device that acts as a service proxy access device. The shippingcompany 202 (which is, more specifically, a server device or the like inthe shipping company) is a device that acts as a service providingdevice. The product purchaser 203 accesses the network through theservice access user terminal device. The product delivery user 204accesses the network through the right setting user terminal device.

In the present example, the product purchaser 203 buys a product on theshopping site 202 and requests the shipping company 202 to deliver theproduct as a present to the product delivery user 204 by using the rightof the product delivery user 204. The shipping company 202 delivers theproduct. In the present example, the authentication device is supposedto be an organization that manages user information, such as ISP(Internet Service Provider) and carrier.

The shipping company 202 in the present example is already controllingthe address to which the product is delivered. The product delivery user204 has the right of accessing the address. In the present example, theright of accessing the address to which the product is delivered istransferred among users or devices.

The product delivery user 204 notifies the authentication device 200that the product delivery user 204 allows transferring the right ofaccessing the address controlled by the shipping company 202 to theproduct purchaser 203 (Step S100 in FIG. 20). Based on the notification,it becomes possible for the product purchaser to deliver to the productdelivery user the product the product purchaser has bought as a present.

Under the circumstances described above, the product purchaser 203accesses the shopping site 201 (Step S101 in FIG. 20). The shipping site201 transmits a user authentication certificate request to theauthentication device 200 in order to acquire information about the userwho is accessing (Step S102 in FIG. 20). After receiving the request,the authentication device 200 issues the user authentication certificate(Step S103 in FIG. 20) and transmits the user authentication certificateto the shopping site 201 (Step S104 in FIG. 20). Since the user can beidentified from the user authentication certificate, the shopping site201 performs a product purchase process in accordance with access fromthe product purchaser 203 and a product shipping process (Step S105 inFIG. 20).

The shopping site 201 requests from the authentication device 200 theright of requesting the shipping company 202 to ship the product (StepS106 in FIG. 20). After receiving the request for issuing of the rightcertificate, the authentication device 200 makes a determination as towhether the product purchaser 203 is able to access the address of theproduct delivery user 204 controlled by the shipping company 202. Whenthe access is allowed, the authentication device 200 issues the userauthentication certificate concerning the product delivery user 204 forthe shipping company 202 and also issues the token (Step S107 in FIG.20).

Subsequently, the authentication device 200 transmits the issued tokento the shopping site 201 (Step S108 in FIG. 20). After receiving thetoken, the shopping site transmits a product shipment request as well asthe token (Step S110 in FIG. 20). After receiving the product shipmentrequest, the shipping company 202 confirms whose right the request usesto access (S111 in FIG. 20). However, at this stage, there is no userauthentication certificate; only the token is received. Accordingly, theshipping company 202 transmits the token to the authentication device200 and requests the certificate (Step S112 in FIG. 20). Theauthentication device 200 searches for the certificate using thereceived token and acquires the certificate (Step S113 in FIG. 20). Theauthentication device 200 then transmits the certificate to the shippingcompany 202 that is requesting the certificate (Step S114 in FIG. 20).

After receiving the certificate, the shipping company 202 checks theright to make a determination as to whether it is possible to access theaddress of the product delivery user 204 (Step S115 in FIG. 20). Whenthe access is possible, the address of the product delivery user isavailable. Therefore, in response to the request from the shopping site201, the shipping company 202 ships the product to the product deliveryuser 204.

In the present example, all the shopping site and the shipping companydo is to exchange the token concerning the user's right; the shoppingsite and the shipping company do not exchange a document on which userinformation such as user ID is recorded. Moreover, all the productdelivery user 204 does is to set the transfer of the right only in theauthentication device 200; the product delivery user 204 does not haveto distribute the transfer conditions to a plurality of devices.

EXAMPLE 2

The following describes Example 2 of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings. Example 2 is an examplecorresponding to the second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 21 is a configuration diagram illustrating the configuration of anaccess management system in Example 2. As shown in FIG. 21, the accessright management system includes an authentication device 205, a serviceprovider 207, a charging service 208 (which is, more specifically, aserver device or the like in the charging service provider) and anexpense bearing department 209 (which is, more specifically, a serverdevice or the like in the expense bearing department).

The authentication device 205 is a device that manages user informationon the Internet and distributes the certificate. The service provider207 is a device that acts as a service proxy access device. The chargingservice 208 (which is, more specifically, a server device or the like inthe charging service provider) is a device that acts as a serviceproviding device for providing a service and proxy access. A userterminal device 206 is a device that an employee uses to access thenetwork through the service access user terminal device. The expensebearing department 209 is a department of a company that performs apayment process in response to a request for a charging service. Morespecifically, a communication process with others and other processes inthe expense bearing department 209 are performed by the server device ofthe expense bearing department 209 and the like.

In the present example, an administrator of the company's expensebearing department 209 sets the access right of the charging service foremployees through the right setting user terminal device. In the presentexample, a user uses the service provider 207 with the user's right; thecompany's expense bearing department 209, however, pays a service usagefee thereof. The charging service 208 performs a charging process tocharge the service usage fee. The service provider 207 uses the rightthe company's expense bearing department 209 has to request the chargingservice to charge the fee. The charging service 208 uses the right theservice provider 207 has to ask the company's expense bearing department209 for payment.

A user who has an employee's right accesses the service provider 207through the user terminal device 206 (Step S201 in FIG. 21). The serviceprovider 207 transmits a user authentication certificate request to theauthentication device 205 in order to acquire information about the userwho is accessing (Step S202 in FIG. 21). After receiving the request,the authentication device 205 issues the user authentication certificate(Step S203 in FIG. 21) and transmits the user authentication certificateto the service provider 207 (Step S204 in FIG. 21). Since the user canbe identified from the user authentication certificate, the serviceprovider 207 provides a service to the user (Step S205 in FIG. 21).

The service provider 207 then requests from the authentication device205 the right of requesting the charging service 208 to perform thecharging process (Step S206 in FIG. 21). After receiving the request forissuing of the right certificate, the authentication device 200 issuesthe user authentication certificate on which information about theexpense bearing department 209 of the company the user works for isrecorded and also issues the token (Step S207 in FIG. 21). Subsequently,the authentication device 205 transmits the issued token to the serviceprovider 207 (Step S208 in FIG. 21). After receiving the token, theservice provider 207 transmits a charging request as well as the token(Step S210 in FIG. 21). After receiving the charging request, thecharging service 208 confirms to whom the charging service 208 chargesthe fee (Step 211 in FIG. 21).

However, at this stage, there is no user authentication certificate; thecharging service 208 has received only the token. Accordingly, thecharging service 208 transmits the token to the authentication device205 to request the certificate (Step S212 in FIG. 21). Theauthentication device 205 searches for the certificate using thereceived token to acquire the certificate (Step S213 in FIG. 21). Then,the authentication device 205 transmits the certificate to the chargingservice 208 that is requesting the certificate (Step S214 in FIG. 21).After receiving the certificate, the charging service 208 confirms theright before performing the charging process (Step S215 in FIG. 21).

When the charging service 208 transmits a bill to the company's expensebearing department 209, the charging service 208 accesses the expensebearing department 209 on behalf of the service provider 207.Accordingly, the charging service 208 transmits to the authenticationdevice 205 a request for issuing the certificate concerning the right ofaccessing the expense bearing department 209 (Step S216 in FIG. 21).After the authentication device 205 receives the certificate issuancerequest, the service provider 207 issues the certificate for accessingthe expense bearing department 209 as well as the token (Step S217 inFIG. 21). Subsequently, the authentication device 205 transmits thetoken to the charging service 208 (Step S218 in FIG. 21).

After receiving the token, the charging service 208 transmits the tokenreceived and a payment bill to the company's expense bearing department209 (Step S219 in FIG. 21). After accepting the payment bill, theexpense bearing department 209 transmits to the authentication device205 a certificate request message and the received token in order toconfirm from which service the request comes from (Step S220 in FIG.21). The authentication device 205 acquires the certificate associatedwith the received token (Step S221 in FIG. 21). The authenticationdevice 205 then transmits the certificate to the expense bearingdepartment 209 that is requesting the certificate (Step S222 in FIG.21). After receiving the certificate, the expense bearing department 209confirms the certificate and the payment bill before completing apayment process (Step S223 in FIG. 21).

The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No.2007-335988 (filed on Dec. 27, 2007). Moreover, the present applicationclaims priority under the Paris Convention from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2007-335988, the entire content of which beingincorporated herein by reference.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail, it is to be understood that the exemplaryembodiments are capable of various changes, substitutions andalternatives without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the claims. If claims are corrected in theprocedure of application, the inventor intends the range of equivalencyof the claims of the invention to be maintained.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention can be applied to a case where a user uses a righttransferred from another user to allow a service provider to carry outproxy access under a situation in which a plurality of service providerswork closely with each other to provide services to users. The presentinvention may also be applied to a certificate management system orright transfer management system in a distributed system that is builton a network, such as an Internet service, an intra-firm system, abusiness-to-business system and a carrier system, and to a program thatallows computers to realize a right management system.

What is claimed is:
 1. An authentication device, comprising: a unit thatissues right transfer information that is to be transmitted to a serviceproviding device and a token that corresponds to the right transferinformation and is to be transmitted to a service proxy access device ona basis of information about a user to whom a right is transferred and acondition under which the right is transferred; a unit that provides thetoken to the service proxy access device; and a unit that receives fromthe service providing device the token transferred from the serviceproxy access device and transmits to the service providing device theright transfer information that corresponds to the token and is kept bythe authentication device.
 2. The authentication device according toclaim 1, further comprising: a right user conversion unit that makes adetermination as to whether to allow an access right to be transferredto another user; and a unit that issues the right transfer informationthat is to be transmitted to the service providing device and the tokenthat corresponds to the right transfer information and is to betransmitted to the service proxy access device when the right userconversion unit determines to allow the transfer of the access right toanother user.
 3. A service proxy access device, comprising: a unit thatacquires from an authentication device a token in order to access aservice providing device; and a unit that transfers the token andtransmits an access request to the service providing device.
 4. Theservice proxy access device according to claim 3, further comprising: aproxy access information storage unit that stores an access right; and aunit that accesses the service providing device using the token acquiredfrom the authentication device when the service proxy access device isable to act as a proxy for a user in accessing the service providingdevice.
 5. A service providing device, comprising: a unit that receivesfrom a service proxy access device a token issued by an authenticationdevice; and a unit that transmits the token to the authentication deviceand acquires user authentication information from the authenticationdevice.
 6. The service providing device according to claim 5, furthercomprising: a unit that acquires the token from the authenticationdevice in order to access another service providing device; and a unitthat transmits the token and an access request to the service providingdevice.
 7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium stored therein anauthentication program of an access right management system for causinga computer to execute: a process of issuing to another device righttransfer information that is to be transmitted to a service providingdevice and a token that corresponds to the right transfer informationand is to be transmitted to a service proxy access device on a basis ofinformation about a user to whom a right is transferred and a conditionunder which the right is transferred; a process of providing the tokento the service proxy access device; and a process of receiving from theservice providing device the token transferred from the service proxyaccess device and transmitting to the service providing device the righttransfer information that corresponds to the token and is kept by thedevice.
 8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according toclaim 7, the authentication program further causing a computer toexecute: a process of making a determination as to whether to allow anaccess right to be transferred to another user; and a process of issuingthe right transfer information that is to be transmitted to the serviceproviding device and the token that corresponds to the right transferinformation and is to be transmitted to the service proxy access devicewhen the determination process determines to allow the transfer of theaccess right to another user.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium stored therein a service proxy access program of an access rightmanagement system for causing a computer to execute: a process ofacquiring from an authentication device a token in order to access aservice providing device; and a process of transferring the token andtransmitting an access request to the service providing device.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, theservice proxy access program further causing a computer to execute: aprocess of accessing the service providing device using the tokenacquired from the authentication device when the device is able to actas a proxy for a user in accessing the service providing device.
 11. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium stored therein a serviceproviding program of an access right management system for causing acomputer to execute: a process of receiving from a service proxy accessdevice a token issued by an authentication device; and a process oftransmitting the token to the authentication device and acquiring userauthentication information.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium according to claim 11, the service providing program furthercausing a computer to execute: a process of acquiring the token from theauthentication device in order to access another service providingdevice; and a process of transmitting the token and an access request tothe another service providing device.